Kremlin calls transportation minister's demise 'tragic' however offers no clues about his obvious suicide

[ad_1] MOSCOW (AP) — The obvious suicide of Russia’s transportation minister introduced expressions of shock and sorrow Tuesday from the Kremlin however no new clues as to why Roman Starovoit might need taken his personal life amid media hypothesis that he doubtlessly was dealing with corruption costs.

Starovoit, who served in his put up for little over a 12 months, was discovered useless from a gunshot wound -- information that broke hours after a decree was issued Monday by President Vladimir Putin that dismissed the 53-year-old Cupboard member.

Starovoit’s physique was discovered within the Odintsovo district simply west of the capital that's dwelling to many members of Russia’s elite, in accordance with the Investigative Committee, the nation’s high prison investigation company. It mentioned {that a} prison probe was launched into his demise and investigators noticed suicide because the probably trigger.

Russian regulation enforcement brokers carry the physique of former Transportation Minister Roman Starovoit, who was discovered useless from a gunshot wound in an obvious suicide, investigators mentioned Monday, hours after his dismissal in Odintsovo, exterior Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 7, 2025. (Evgeniy Razumniy/Kommersant Photograph by way of AP)

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The company mentioned Starovoit’s physique was present in his automobile, however Russian media that carried pictures from the scene later reported that he was discovered useless in a small park subsequent to a parking zone the place he left his Tesla and a pistol offered to him as an official present was at his aspect.

The reviews mentioned Starovoit’s private assistant was requested to establish his physique and he or she was seen weeping afterward.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to touch upon the circumstances of Starovoit’s demise, saying that investigators must decide the small print.

“Such info is all the time tragic and unhappy,” Peskov mentioned, noting that Putin was instantly knowledgeable about it. “Naturally, we have been shocked by it.”

Russian media reported that Starovoit’s dismissal and his demise may have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allotted for constructing fortifications in the Kursk region , the place he was governor for 5 years earlier than changing into transportation minister.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit on the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photograph by way of AP, File)

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Starovoit’s successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, stepped down in December and was arrested on embezzlement costs in April. Some Russian media have claimed that Smirnov had advised investigators about Starovoit’s alleged involvement within the corruption scheme and his arrest appeared inevitable.

Some commentators even alleged that Starovoit’s associates in increased echelons may have ordered his killing to keep away from publicity.

The alleged embezzlement has been cited as one cause behind the Russian army’s failure to stem a shock August 2024 incursion within the area by Ukrainian troops that shortly overwhelmed calmly armed Russian border guards and inexperienced military conscripts. The incursion humiliated the Kremlin — the primary time the nation’s territory was occupied by an invader since World Conflict II.

The Russian army introduced in April that its troops had absolutely reclaimed the border territory practically 9 months after dropping chunks of the area. Ukraine had disputed that assertion.

On July 1, former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov was convicted on costs of embezzlement and cash laundering and sentenced to 13 years in jail in a high-profile case that uncovered rampant army corruption extensively blamed for Moscow’s military setbacks in Ukraine.

Ivanov was probably the most seen determine in a far-ranging probe into alleged army graft that additionally focused a number of different high officers who have been near former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu . Shoigu, a veteran official who had private ties to Putin, survived the purge of his inside circle and was given a high-profile put up of secretary of Russia’s Safety Council.

Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit attends a gathering in Mineralnye Vody, Russia, Tuesday, Might 6, 2025. (Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Authorities Pool Photograph by way of AP)

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Ivanov, 49, was named deputy protection minister in 2016 and oversaw army building initiatives, in addition to property administration, housing and medical help for the troops. He was identified for his lavish life-style that outraged many in Moscow simply because the preventing in Ukraine uncovered obvious deficiencies in Russian army group and provides that resulted in battlefield setbacks.

Putin named Andrei Nikitin, who served as deputy transport minister, to exchange Starovoit. Lawmakers within the decrease home of Russian parliament shortly endorsed his appointment on Tuesday.

Starovoit, who was divorced, is survived by two teenage daughters.

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